Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The No. 1-ranked Hutchinson Community College men's golf team begins its quest for a third-straight national championship on Tuesday when the Blue Dragons open play at the 2023 NJCAA Division I Championships at Sand Creek Station in Newton.

The Blue Dragons open the 72-hole national tournament with tee times on Tuesday from 7:50 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Round 2 tee times on Wednesday are from 1:20 to 2 p.m. the No. 1-ranked Blue Dragons will be paired with No. 2 New Mexico Junior College and No. 3 Midland College in the first two rounds.

Hutchinson bids to accomplish something that hasn't been done in Blue Dragon men's golf since 2001 … that accomplishment is to win three-straight team championships. The last team to win three in a row was Central Alabama from 1999 to 2001.

The Blue Dragons started the current championship streak in 2021 at The Rawls Course in Lubbock, Texas. The Dragons saw a sizable lead entering the final round dwindle to two strokes over Odessa, but went on to win the team title at 16-under par 1,136. Ben Partridge, Harry Crockett and Cameron Rios-Ceballos earned All-America honors and Partridge defeated Crockett in a four-hole playoff to earn the program's first individual national championships.

Last year at the Odessa Country Club, the Blue Dragons won a second-straight national championship with the widest margin of victory since 2000 with a 20-stroke victory over Odessa. The Dragons posted a 72-hole record of 22-under par 1,130. Dominic Clemons lost a two-hole playoff for the individual national championship. Clemons, Partridge, Blake Saffell and Crockett all earned NJCAA All-Americans.

Clemons and Saffell return from that championship team.

The 2023 Blue Dragons won five tournaments, tying for the second-most team wins this season. The Dragons won their fourth-straight Jayhawk Conference championship and freshman Alex Lindstrom became the fourth-straight Hutchinson player to win the individual KJCCC championship.

The Dragons have three golfers in the GolfStat Top 20 NJCAA rankings this season.

Clemons is ranked No. 2 in the rankings with a stroke average of 72.11. Lindstrom is seventh with a stroke average of 72.33 and Saffell is 13th at 73.11 strokes per round.

The Blue Dragons qualified for their 22nd-straight national tournament with a third-place performance at the Plains Regional Tournament at Crestview-North in Wichita two weeks ago.